Tocophobia is a disorder that consists of having an intense fear of pregnancy and childbirth. It is suffered by both women who are first-timers and those who have already gone through a previous pregnancy.
The term tocophobia comes from the Greek «tokos» (birth) and «phobos» (fear). It is also known as parturiphobia, maieusiphobia or lochiophobia. It is classified into primary and secondary.
The curious thing is that this phobia is not exclusive to women. Many men also suffer from tocophobia. They feel severe uneasiness in the face of the uncertainty of the process of pregnancy and the birth of their partners. They fear the moment of childbirth and what may happen to their partner and their future child.
About 14% of women worldwide suffer from tocophobia and, in addition, its prevalence is suspected to have increased from the year 2000 onwards.
The symptoms
In reality, tocophobia is an anxiety disorder and negatively conditions those who suffer from it. Symptoms such as sleep disorders, panic attacks, avoidance behaviors, anxiety and depression are the most common in this disorder
Fear of childbirth (tocophobia) can have negative effects beyond the birth itself. Thus, when requesting an elective caesarean section, it also increases the probability that the birth will become a traumatic element, as well as that of bonding problems between mother and child.
Causes
Regarding tocophobia, several explanations have been suggested. One of them is the transmitted testimony: the narration of childbirth experiences that suffered a lot. The previous existence of disorders such as anxiety or depression have also been linked as probable causes.
In general, in all cases there is an irrational fear of inadequate pain management, loss of control, lack of trust in medical personnel or exacerbated fear for one’s own life or that of the baby.
In short, it is a disorder associated with uncertainty that is usually aggravated by a lack of social support. It occurs in many women who face pregnancy and childbirth alone. It is believed that there is a percentage between 2 and 15 percent of women who suffer from tocophobia.
Types
It is called primary tocophobia if the affected person is a first-timer, and secondary when the patient has already had a previous childbirth.
Primary tocophobia can be related to childhood trauma or sexual abuse, and if the woman suffers from depression before pregnancy, it can also be another symptom of this emotional disorder. However, there does not have to be a reason that explains the appearance of primary tocophobia, which can already manifest itself from adolescence.
As soon as these women start having sex, they show an obsession with contraception, because they want to avoid pregnancy. If their desire to have a baby outweighs their fear of childbirth, it is common for them to request a scheduled cesarean section.
Secondary tocophobia occurs after a difficult delivery. In this case, the fear is the consequence of a previous bad experience.
Like all phobias, this excessive fear of childbirth can cause various problems in the affected person: from not being able to fulfill her desire to be a mother, which she may later regret when it is biologically too late, to undergoing a cesarean section unnecessarily, or requesting a termination of pregnancy.
complications
The fact of suffering from tocophobia and not overcoming it can lead the woman to have problems during childbirth and make it more painful.
In addition, tocophobia can also affect the couple’s sexual relations and even the fact of achieving pregnancy. Therefore, to a certain extent it could be said that tocophobia causes sterility.
Tocophobia leads doctors in some cases to feel convinced enough to perform an elective caesarean section. There are even cases of women who, due to this extreme fear of childbirth and pregnancy, decide to separate from their partners. Others come to allege their inability and impossibility to conceive.
There are women who choose not to be biological mothers because they do not go through a pregnancy and childbirth and consider adopting to fulfill the dream of having a child.
How to overcome tocophobia?
The specialist who is in charge of treating tocophobia disorders is the perinatal psychologist.
In the first place, the most important thing is to find the origin of the fears that the woman feels. In this sense, specialists affirm that it is more difficult to treat primary than secondary tocophobia, since the reasons for the fear are unknown in order to begin to delve into them.
Some techniques or procedures recommended by perinatal psychologists or midwives to overcome the fear of pregnancy and childbirth are the following:
Attend childbirth preparation classes
This is essential, since the woman who feels fear at the time of giving birth has to know what she is going to encounter, recognize the symptoms she may have and know how to act.
Play sports for pregnant women
In addition to meeting other women in a similar situation, sport contributes to increasing the woman’s confidence, since she feels that her body is better prepared to give birth. Yoga or Pilates are the best options.
Do meditation or mindfulness
It is a relaxation technique in which it is intended that the woman reaches full attention of her consciousness, that is, to focus all her attention on the state in which she is present, here and now, and thus be able to understand what it happens to him
Giving birth in a birthing house
These are rooms away from delivery rooms, where women have beds, mattresses, bathtubs, exercise facilities, etc. They can be accompanied by their partner or relatives at all times and childbirth is experienced as the natural and human process that it is. Birthing houses are very famous in the UK.
use a doula
They are women who advise and accompany pregnant women, but they do not have any medical qualifications as is the case with midwives. Doulas can help overcome tocophobia mainly because of the emotional support they provide before, during and after childbirth.